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Preparing for Launch: Winter South 02014

My book Winter South 02014 was published in March, and apparently an email from the marketing team slipped through the cracks, so we are just now getting around to forming a press release to launch my book into the stratosphere.

I took some time to fill out a formulaic series of “interview” questions for the Lulu marketing team (their “Press Release Questionnaire”), and as I continued down the list, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the questions felt quite absurd. As such, I’ve decided to publish the questions — and my actual answers — here on my blog. Just for fun.

Lulu: What inspired you to write this book?

Me: I was planning a move from California back to my hometown in North Carolina, and I’ve always been a deep thinker and a writer, so I thought I’d try my hand at travel writing. Honestly, it was kind of a “fuck it, why not” moment. Then, I decided to turn it into a Kickstarter campaign to pay for some bells and whistles at Lulu, and it kinda snowballed a bit. I felt obligated to finish the project once the campaign got funded.

Lulu: Summarize your book in one to three sentences as if you were speaking to someone unfamiliar with your book and its topic.

Me: I decided to take a month to drive relatively slowly across the southern part of the USA, camping, couchsurfing, shooting photographs, and taking notes about my observations and experiences as I went. I pondered our place in this world as a species, as well as our relationship with the technologies we’ve created. I met a lot of new people and spent a lot of time by myself.

Lulu: What is the overall theme (central topic, subject or concept) of your book?

Me: Mankind, the natural world, technology, experience, and design.

Lulu: Where does this book take place?

Me: From California to North Carolina, across the southern portion of the United States of America.

Lulu: Who are the main characters and why are they important to the story?

Me: I am the main character, I guess. My conscience?

Lulu: Why do you think that this book will appeal to readers?

Me: My experiences and perspectives are atypical and thus intriguing.

Lulu: How is your book relevant in today’s society?

Me: It’s a real story with a long view perspective that more individuals of our species need to adopt. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine.

Lulu: Is there any subject currently trending in the news that relates to your book?

Me: I don’t watch the news, so I couldn’t tell you one way or the other. My book is the opposite of the 24-hour news cycle, I guess.

Lulu: What makes your book different from other books like it?

Me: I’m not sure which books are like mine. I guess of those that are (of which I’m not aware), one major difference is that I wrote my book, as opposed to someone else. Another interesting fact: I wrote the entire book in Google Drive, up until the point I had to convert it to a Word Doc for Lulu. I’d really appreciate it if you’d read my book and form your own opinion about why my book is different (better) than other books like it. I think you’d write a better press release.

Lulu: What do you want readers to take away from your writing?

Me: I want them to want to call me up and have an intelligent conversation. I want them to rekindle a fire for learning and discovery that makes them feel alive every goddamned day. I want them to write their own book about their own experiences and observations and reflections, published or not.

Lulu: How did you learn about the topic? (i.e. personal experience, education, etc.)

Me: To get a little philosophical here, I’m constantly learning about every topic I can possibly comprehend, right? Pragmatically speaking, I’ve been alive and aware on this planet for thirty-five years and counting (not counting the nine months in utero?). If I’m not learning, I’m not living. I also got an amazing humanities-based liberal arts undergraduate education at UNC-Asheville. It’s the best thing that has happened to me so far in this life, as best I can tell. Well, maybe that, and the fact that I really learned how to write at Emerson College and during my doctoral studies at Arizona State University. Being an introvert really helps too. I spend a lot of time alone, which allows me to focus, perceive, digest, analyze, and reflect in a way that I believe most people caught up in the shallower aspects of society do not. Oh…and that should be e.g. up there in your question, not i.e. ☺

Lulu: Is there a particular passage from your book you’d like us to utilize? If so, please provide.

Me: Again, I think you should read my book and choose for yourself. If you can’t, then, well, I guess I’ve failed at writing a good book, haven’t I? Haven’t I paid Lulu’s marketing department substantial funds to craft this press release? I think the least you could do is read my book. I’m sure you can get a free copy from Lulu – or find a pirated PDF somewhere online. Just ask your nearest fifth grader. If not, I’ll mail you one.

I’m dying to see how the press release turns out. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the meantime, check out Winter South 02014 in paperback and ebook formats. I’m curious to know what you think.